With Plans for Family Time, Work and Romance During a Three-Week Tour Down Under, Kate Continues to Refine the Art of Being a Thoroughly Modern Princess

There would be traditional Maori nose rubs, a group playdate, yacht races, kangaroo encounters and too many handshakes to count. But first, 9-month-old Prince George and his parents had to complete the marathon 27-hour journey from London to Sydney to Wellington, New Zealand, where the young family finally touched down just after noon local time on April 7 to kick off their jam-packed 19-day tour. If the chubby-cheeked heir was feeling jet-lagged, he didn't show it: Looking cozy and content in his mother's arms, he appeared unfazed by the gauntlet of handlers and photographers awaiting his arrival. But even a precocious little prince has his limits, and within 90 minutes, he was out of view with his new nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, inside Wellington's historic Government House while his parents exchanged "hongis" (nose rubs) with Maori leaders. William and Kate "are so proud to be showing George around where they can," a friend tells PEOPLE. And yet, adds a Palace aide, "there's only a limited amount of things that a baby can do."

Of course, George has more on his tiny shoulders than most of his peers - as does his mother, who is still relatively new to both parenthood and princess life. She has proven herself a quick study at both, though, as well as a supportive spouse who prioritizes alone time with her husband of nearly three years. All three roles were fully on display Down Under, with George's protective parents working to make sure that their first international tour as a family balances royal duty, baby-friendly fun and even a few romantic getaways. Employing what the Palace calls a "hub-and-spoke" plan, William, 31, and Kate, 32, are largely basing themselves in three centers around Australia and New Zealand in which they can leave George with the exactingly trained Borrallo while they head out on some 45 engagements before returning nightly. "That's so that Prince George doesn't have to move around and the couple can still cover as much of the country and see as many people as they can," says the aide.

For Kate the trip marks only her third international tour - and her first visit to Australia and New Zealand. The tour also marks her biggest royal duty to date, as she has spent much of the past nine months on a maternity leave of sorts: Apart from a small number of carefully chosen engagements, she has mostly busied herself caring for George and overseeing renovations at the family's homes in London and Norfolk, as well as nesting at the Bucklebury home of her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton. "It's something she's always wanted to do," says William's private secretary, Miguel Head. "The breadth of things they're going to be seeing and the people they're going to be meeting makes her very enthusiastic. [William] is in no doubt that his wife will fall in love with New Zealand and Australia every bit as much as he did some years ago."

William himself was almost exactly his son's age when he made his first trip to the region 31 years earlier with his own parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Showing off his newly learned crawling skills, "William Wombat" - a family nickname he earned after the trip - charmed fans even as his mother, then 21, kept her stress hidden behind the scenes. "I went to my lady-in-waiting, cried my eyes out and said, 'Anne, I've got to go home. I can't cope with this,'" Diana later told biographer Andrew Morton. "William doesn't want this trip to be a replica of when he went with his parents 31 years ago," says Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward. "He wants it to be different and matching how he and Kate do things." Most notably, "seeing the interaction between William and Kate is totally different" from his parents, says the friend of the couple. "It's not the future king and wife who will do as she's told, but a husband and wife in the modern world."

Which means making a concerted effort to carve out time for just the two of them, including a recent weeklong getaway to the Maldives during which they left George with the Middletons. On April 22 the couple will spend the night in a luxury tent at the exclusive $1,100-per-person Longtitude 131 resort at Australia's Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - otherwise known as Ayers Rock - with George in Borrallo's care in Canberra. And on April 11 they are expected to face off in a sailing contest in Auckland harbor before retiring to a lodge for the night. "They are a little competitive, and we expect this to be very enjoyable," says Head with a wink.

But it's their active, soon-to-be toddler who will most keep them on their toes. With two new teeth and having just learned to crawl, "he will be at a very inquisitive age," says Sarah Dixon, a maternity nurse who has worked with friends of the royal couple. "He will enjoy being out and exploring new sights and sounds." Having just recently survived the sleepless newborn crying stage, "I think the sleep routine is going to be a massive issue for them" given the change in surroundings and time difference, says Dixon. And there are other practical considerations. "Baby food preparation is another thing to consider at this age," she says. "They will liaise closely with the chefs there because it's important that his food is prepared correctly. The logistics of traveling with a 9-month-old are pretty extensive, really!"

Which may be the reason the couple feel they have their hands full with one baby for now. Asked by an Irish guardsman at a St. Patrick's Day event whether the pair had plans for more children, William replied, "Maybe one day. One's enough at the moment." Says longtime royal watcher Seward: "They are clearly enjoying watching all these first stages. They are loving it."

Whether in the outback or the English countryside, the trio are relishing their life together. "They are a balanced young family," says the friend. Kate has been shopping for their newly renovated rural estate, Anmer Hall, as well as the family's London residence at Kensington Palace. They are set to return to England on April 25 but won't be home for long, with William and Harry - and possibly Kate and George - slated to attend the wedding of close friend Guy Pelly in Tennessee on May 3. Fasten your seatbelts, William and Kate: By then, your little guy will surely be cruising.

Contributors:

Simon Perry/New Zealand,

Monique Jessen/London,

Phillip Boucher/London.

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Kate's Crew

THE HAIRDRESSER

Amanda Cook Tucker's credits include Kate's 2012 Southeast Asia tour and the new mom's debut of infant George outside St. Mary's Hospital last July.

THE RIGHT-HAND WOMAN

Kate's private secretary, Rebecca Deacon, advises the princess on diplomatic matters of substance and, without a stylist in tow, is also helping the style star with her clothes and jewelry.

THE NANNY

Hired just one month ago, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, 43, arrives with a pedigree from the famed Norland College for nannies. She hails from a well-off family in Spain and is now "living in" at William and Kate's Kensington Palace residence.

What They Brought

THE HAT BOX

Staffers toted a box from London's Lock & Co. Hatters. The black case is big enough for a tiara, though Kate isn't expected to wear one. It may contain other borrowed jewels from Queen Elizabeth.

THE LUGGAGE

A new suit for William? Among scores of cases was a garment bag from London store Daks. The prince also favors Savile Row tailors Richard James and Spencer Hart.

THE COLOR-CODED BAGS

An assortment of luggage featured three color-coded tags, including blue for "HRH Prince George of Cambridge."

George's Packing List

THE PRAM

Although it wasn't on display in the first few days of their trip, George's trusty Silver Cross is his preferred ride of choice (other than Mom's arms).

THE COZY SWEATERS

Early autumn Down Under, George might bundle up in the Union Jack knit Kate picked up from London shop Trotters.

THE BABY SHOES

"We are thrilled," says Paul Bolton of Early Days, the heritage children's footwear brand that George sported. Borrallo is thought to have bought the shoes last month.

How She Does It

Yes, she has lots of help and a hands-on husband, but Princess Kate is also a pro at balancing. "When she works in the evening, she spends the preceding day with George," says a royal insider. "She wants to get quality time with him."

BABY ON BOARD

With George on a Mustique getaway in January.

DATE NIGHT

With William at a London gala in September.

Reporter's Notebook

Down Under with the Royal Family

PEOPLE's royal correspondent Simon Perry gets up close and personal with Kate, Will and George on their tour

Watching Princess Kate carry the future King of England onto the tarmac at Wellington airport, all I could think was: What a difference she has made, to Prince William, to the monarchy and to Britain.

As PEOPLE's royal correspondent since 1999, I've covered William and Kate's eight-year courtship, their engagement, the royal wedding and, of course, the July 22, 2013, birth of Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. I've been part of the international press pack that has accompanied the couple on their royal tours, first of Canada and Los Angeles in 2011 and of Malaysia, Singapore and the Solomon Islands in 2012. On that first trip, Kate told me she had been "slightly nervous" before a dragon-boat race event (famously competitive, she battled it out with her husband, but the Prince prevailed, declaring, "No chivalry [in sport]").

This time Kate showed no sign of nerves. This was a princess and mother fully in command of both roles (and her balance, toting a baby down a roll-away staircase in Emmy heels). Even as her red Catherine Walker coat evoked memories of Princess Diana three decades ago, I was struck by how much had changed. Back in 1983, when Di and Prince Charles brought a 9-month-old Prince William Down Under, it was William's nanny Barbara Barnes carrying her tiny charge off the plane. For a while there were murmurings Kate wouldn't hire a full-time nanny, relying as heavily as she does on the ace babysitting services of her mom, Carole Middleton. She did in the end concede to the demands of royal life, bringing on Jessie Webb briefly and then in March hiring Norland College-trained Maria Borrallo. With royalty no choices are accidental. Kate and William want to tell the world on this tour, as they have done so many times before: We are in charge.

For William, who returned to New Zealand a few times as a bachelor prince, having Kate there "as an equal" by his side, one of their friends told me, has enabled him to embark on a life of royal duty eased by the joy of a happy family life. It's no surprise, then, that the baby these two have brought into the world—who faced hundreds of cameras outside St. Mary's Hospital in London a day after he was born—is a secure and inquisitive infant. At parties with Kate, he has no trouble being taken around the room; he reaches out to guests' wine glasses or to grab your finger in a baby handshake.

Still, it has to be all a bit daunting, traveling halfway around the world while you're teething. At one point, before they introduced their son to dignitaries and Maori leaders at Wellington's Government House, William reached out and stroked his baby's chubby legs. Even a little prince needs a bit of reassurance now and then.